Ground cover materials are used in agriculture for a number of purposes including weed suppression and/or soil warmth retention and/or moisture retention and/or for light reflecting.
Typically where a material is used for weed suppression (herein referred to as weed matting) in an orchard or vineyard for example, the material is rolled out in lengths onto the ground beneath or between rows of trees or vines, or rows of berry fruit plants, and is secured in place. It is important that the material while suppressing weed growth beneath the material also allows rain or irrigation water penetration through the material.
Typically where a material is used primarily as a reflective ground cover for light enhancement, the material is again rolled out in lengths onto the ground, and secured in place, beneath or between rows of trees, vines, or plants, to increase the amount of light to which the plants and in particular fruit are exposed by reflection of light from the material towards the fruit above.
In either case the material may also aid soil warmth retention.
The sheet material will typically remain in place for some months, before being removed and reused in a subsequent growing season or on another crop in the same growing season, but in some cases may remain in place over multiple growing seasons.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved ground cover materials, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.